Wizard: I Can Refine Everything

Above the Molten Sea, a thin Wizard Apprentice was flying at a leisurely pace not far above the surface.

The term "Molten Sea" refers to the magma seas outside the Main Continent of the Red Sun World, occupying one-third of the entire area of the Red Sun World. Countless powerful Flame Giant Beasts and elemental creatures that escaped from the Elemental Territory dwell within.

Despite its vastness, however, the Molten Sea yields pitifully few resources.

Broad as the Magma Sea might be, besides the Flame Giant Beasts and Fire Element Gems, this vast sea area yields practically nothing.

The Flame Giant Beasts have limited uses; besides being experimental subjects, their main purpose is to serve as ingredients.

But this market is too small; the Flame Giant Beasts near the coast are more than enough.

As for the Fire Element Gems, they are abundant in every Fire Element-biased world, including the Red Sun World.

If a Great Wizard wished, a single Fire Element Gem from the Red Sun World could collapse the entire Fire Element Gem market of the Wizard World.

But aside from bringing trouble to the Great Wizard, there's no benefit in doing so.

Thus, many Fire Element Gem mines on the Main Continent of the Red Sun World have been sealed by the Great Wizard, and only some are being exploited.

Moreover, most of the gems produced from these mines are fuel-grade Flame Gems, mainly used as a power source for alchemy machines.

The production of Fire Element Gems suitable for use at the tip of staves is strictly limited.

A steady trickle is the right path.

Therefore, to Wizards, the Molten Sea is like a vast desert, with very few willing to spend time exploring it.

Splash!

Suddenly, from the calm sea burst a Flame Shark with an open mouth, nearly ten meters in length. The energy fluctuations it emitted had already reached the standards of third-level creatures.

Such a creature, if found on the Main Continent of the Red Sun World, would require a White Wizard squad to deploy, led by a Three Rings Wizard, for a swift resolution.

And its target as it leapt from the sea was the Wizard flying just above, whose energy fluctuated no more than that of a Second Ring.

"Caw, yet another fool who doesn't see."

A black crow flew up from the Wizard's shoulder, its Crow Claw suddenly enlarging, snatching the leaping Flame Giant Shark. Despite being captured, the Giant Shark thrashed violently, its enormous third-level arsenide body twisting and struggling with prodigious force at every movement.

But the crow's claw seemed forged from bronze and iron, and no matter how the shark struggled, the claw did not budge.

The crow's claw shrank continuously, and the Flame Giant Shark trapped within it shrank along with the claw.

The ten-meter-long Flame Giant Shark gradually shrank to five meters, then slowly to one meter. Eventually, it turned into a small fish the size of a palm and was tossed into the crow's mouth and swallowed whole.

"Burp,"

The crow let out a satisfied belch, exhaling a fierce burst of Elemental Flame.

After eating, it looked at the Wizard beside it and asked,

"Caw, tell me, Richard, does the thing you're looking for even exist? I've almost grown sick of eating these Flame Giant Beasts."

Richard glanced at Ulysses with a somewhat helpless tone,

"Ulysses, how come you've become so impatient after waking up? I've already said there must be islands on the Molten Sea. Those Fire Lizards surely sent someone over."

"Caw, but we've been searching this sea for three years now."

Richard felt helpless, and so did Ulysses.

Three years ago, when Ulysses awoke from his slumber, after feasting on Fire Lizard brains, Richard summoned him to act as a protector over the Molten Sea.

The task was to search for islands in the Molten Sea.

Honestly, if not for the sake of so many Fire Lizard brains, Ulysses would have sworn long ago.

The term "Molten Sea" doesn't merely suggest molten; even the word "sea" itself is a literal description.

Searching aimlessly for islands in a vast sea area is nearly as fruitless as finding a needle in a haystack.

Moreover, Ulysses was particularly sensitive to such a Fire Element-imbalanced environment. Because the Molten Sea was everywhere molten, the concentration of Fire Elements was several times higher than that on the continent, making these three years quite unbearable for Ulysses.

"The Fire Lizards probably searched the sea for about ten years, with several fleets at that. We've only been at it for three years, what's the rush?"

Richard maintained a peaceful mindset, the quest for islands in the Molten Sea reminiscent of his experiences roaming the distant seas during his days as a Wizard Apprentice.

Back then, he had just qualified as a Wizard, and Jolod advised him to relax a bit.

Now, looking back, it had been over three hundred years.

"Caw, those Fire Lizards are real jerks. They could just stay on their continent without trouble, but no, they run off to the sea. And now, of all things, you had to discover them."

Ulysses's tone was full of sorrow; days in the Molten Sea were indeed agonizing, even worse than the days spent in the underground Magma Sea.

Back then, Richard would often return to the Secret Realm with an unseen creature, claiming to be exploring, when in fact, he probably spent most of the day within the Secret Realm.

Moreover, during explorations of the Molten Sea, he would always have an energy shield activated.

But now, Richard was flying over the sea all day, occasionally returning to the Secret Realm for meditation, and Ulysses had no choice but to follow. To collect specimens, Ulysses wasn't allowed to activate an energy shield, as it would scare away the Flame Giant Beasts of the Molten Sea.

Life had become unbearably difficult... Achoo!

Seeing that Richard ignored his complaints, Ulysses had no choice but to return to Richard's shoulder.

A glint flashed in his eyes as he swept a gaze over the surrounding sea, hoping to spot traces of islands and put an end to this miserable exploration.

Whether it was Ulysses's luck or the Fire Lizards' misfortune, his casual glance indeed caught sight of something quite out of place in the Molten Sea.

"Caw, Richard, fly that way! I see something strange!"

"Hmm?" Richard was startled, "What strange thing?"

"Gah, hard to describe, it's pointed at both ends and bulged in the middle, and it seems to be made of metal. But I can assure you, that thing definitely isn't a part of the Flame Giant Beast."

Richard immediately changed direction and flew towards where Ulysses had indicated, midway through his description.

The thing Ulysses described was precisely what he and Calion had deduced about the appearance of the long-range ships.

After subduing Calion, Richard had found several Fire Lizard Alchemy Masters in succession. Among these masters, some had also participated in the outsourcing project for Merrick's Shield.

Having gathered information from several Fire Lizard Alchemy Masters, Richard concluded that the Fire Lizards must have been exploring the Molten Sea.

And they most likely discovered something.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have kept building long-range ships for seven or eight years without stop.

Although his process was wrong, his speculative conclusion was accidentally correct.

For this reason, once Ulysses had awakened, Richard had immediately begun a search operation.

He knew that if the Fire Lizards had fled to the sea, they would certainly bring many talents with them. If he could subdue them, these Fire Lizards would greatly enhance his power.

The people viewed as the seed of hope by the Fire Lizard Empire wouldn't just be a bunch of useless relatives.

...

Above the Molten Sea, a giant metal shuttle floated quietly on the surface.

Beside it, the Flame Giant Beasts passed by the metal shuttle as if it were a mere stone.

Inside the shuttle, the Fire Lizard captain's brow was furrowed as he quietly listened to the report being delivered.

"...Hull damage is at eighteen percent, the isolation chamber has been activated. But the ship's eastern parts are severely damaged. According to the craftsman..."

The reporting Fire Lizard paused, and the captain looked up at him, asking,

"What did he say?"

"...He said that the propulsion components might be irreparable, and even if fixed, with the deviation from our course during the Fire Element Storm, the remaining fuel would hardly support our return to the 'New World.'"

The captain looked at the reporting Fire Lizard for a long time without speaking.

"...I understand. Order the crew to repair the damage as soon as possible and tell the craftsmen to fix the propulsion components as soon as they can. As for the fuel issue... I will deal with it."

The captain's composed demeanor reassured the reporting Fire Lizard, who respectfully saluted the captain before leaving the cabin room to pass along the orders.

Bang.

The door of the captain's quarters closed.

The captain, somewhat agitated, looked out the observation window at the endless Molten Sea. He couldn't believe his bad luck to have encountered a Fire Element Storm.

Although he had assured his First Mate that he would take care of the fuel, the type of fuel required for the ship was Fire Element Gems, and to obtain these, he would have to dive into the Molten Sea himself.

Inside the Molten Sea, countless powerful Flame Giant Beasts roamed. Even as a silver-horned noble, his chances of survival against those monsters would be practically nonexistent.

But this was still the highest chance for survival he had.

"Ah, shouldn't have been greedy for that Fire Whale. If we had set sail earlier, even if we encountered the Fire Element Storm, we wouldn't have ended up in this godforsaken place."

The captain sighed, moved to his table, and took out a charcoal pencil to begin writing his last will.

But before he could write more than a few words, a rapid knock sounded at the door.

Thump, thump, thump! Thump, thump, thump! Bang!

Before the captain could answer, the First Mate who had been conveying his orders burst into the room, his face filled with terror.

"What's the matter, to be in such a panic?" the captain frowned, his tone commanding.

The First Mate looked at the captain, panic-stricken, and gave an answer he'd never considered.

"A wizard! Sir, a wizard is coming!"

...

On the metal shuttle, Richard easily found the entrance and opened it effortlessly with Giant Dragon Alchemy.

At the entrance, a Fire Lizard just happened to be passing by. Its expression went from astonishment to fright upon seeing Richard.

A wizard!

Had they come to the nearby sea? How did they encounter a wizard here?

Richard saw the Fire Lizard and couldn't help but be pleased.

"Ulysses, you've done a great service this time."

"Gah, let's get moving, I don't want to stay in this dump for another minute."

Entering the ship's cabin, Richard quickly encountered a group of Fire Lizards carrying weapons, but their expressions were one of sheer fright.

Having dealt with wizards for so many years, the Fire Lizards could still discern the strength of a wizard.

The energy fluctuations emanating from Richard had reached the realm of a Second Ring Wizard, and in front of him, this group of Fire Lizards amounted to nothing more than a few spells.

The might of wizards had long become the nightmare of the Fire Lizards.

Unexpectedly to them, this wizard did not attack; instead, he said to them calmly,

"Fire Lizards, I have no intention of killing you. Call out your captain, I wish to speak with him."